Selenium

Selenium is a trace element found widely in the environment. According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) good sources include brazil nuts, bread, fish, meat and eggs. Selenium is present in fish (0.32mg/kg), offal (0.42mg/kg), brazil nuts (0.25mg/kg), eggs (0.16mg/kg), bread (0.053mg/kg) and other cereals (0.02mg/kg). The UK reference nutrient intake (RNI) for selenium is 0.075mg a day for men and 0.06mg a day for women (COMA values). You should be able to get all the selenium you need from your daily diet.

Selenium is an essential trace element, which is necessary for the functioning of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, which protects against intracellular oxidative damage. In essence selenium functions as an anti-oxidant and can help protect the body from oxidative damage caused by stress, pollution and aging. Selenium has been claimed to reduce the incidence of a range of cancers, although the COMA report on Nutritional Aspects of the Development of Cancers (1998) considered there to be insufficient evidence for such a link. Research in this area continues.

The selenium concentration of plants is determined by the content and availability of the element in the soil in which they are grown. The selenium content of plant foods therefore varies from country to country.

Concerns have been raised that selenium intakes in the UK are falling. In previous years the UK milling industry used more wheat sourced from North America . North American wheat contains slightly higher levels of selenium than UK wheat. However UK wheat still contains more selenium than European grown wheat. Since the UK now uses mostly homegrown wheat, this is reflected by slightly lower levels of selenium than US wheat. The trend towards using UK rather than North American wheat coupled with the fact that there has been a decline in the consumption of cereals and wheat based foods such as bread (both good sources of dietary selenium) could result in slightly lower intakes of selenium in the UK .